A Pandemic engagement : teachers’ perceptions on their student’s engagement during Covid-19

Abstract

Uncertain times guided this research. The Covid-19 pandemic stroke by surprise everything and everyone, forcing all that witnessed to adapt rigidly. This research used what beforehand could be described as a devastating event as a learning process. The focus lays on those changes that broke the chain of our commodities, more precisely on the adaptation of students and teachers to an abrupt deviation of their normal education procedures. Teachers and students from all school years had to teach and learn online, and although too soon for prognostics somehow proved to prosper from it. Through the lens of the dimensions of Student Engagement and the use of technology this research analysed how those changes affected the teachers and their students’ lives. The research has been guided by the following research question: How do teachers perceive their students ‘engagement in online classes during the Covid-19 pandemic?

For this qualitative research project, a total of 11 teachers of primary and 2nd cycle from different districts in Portugal were interviewed. The interviews last an average of 50 minutes. The considered aged staff faced here with a challenge without precedents proved to be open to the subject, culminating into findings of both natures, revealing some pros and cons of this new online classes and lastly some prospects for the future of education.